US4677466A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Broadcast program identification method and apparatus
Assignee: TNC US Holdings Inc
•
Filing: 1985-07-29
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Granted: 1987-06-30
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Expires: 2005-07-29
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for identifying repetitively broadcast programs, such as commercial advertisements broadcast on television and radio, detects the occurrence of predetermined events in a video signal and/or in an audio signal, detects a stability condition and extracts a signature from the video and/or audio signal. The signatures and the times of occurrence of the signatures are stored and subsequently compared with reference signatures to identify the program and its time of broadcast. The reference signatures may be obtained by identifying repetitively extracted, unidentified signatures and indexing a recording of the video and/or audio signals to enable the system user to identify the unidentified broadcast program and store the previously unidentified signatures as additional reference signatures in memory.
Inventors
- 👤 John G. Lert, Jr.
- 👤 Daozheng Lu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:39
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/28; G; G06; G06V; G06V20/00; G06V20/40; H04H60/00; H04H60/35; H04H60/37; H04H60/56; H04H60/58; H04H60/59; H04N; H04N5/00; H04N5/76; H04N5/765; H04N7/00; H04N7/08; H04N7/087; H04N7/088; H04N7/0887
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 109
Claim 1
Independent Claim
18 words
A method of identifying a plurality of defined broadcast programs in a broadcast signal comprising the steps of:
Claim 2
Independent Claim
18 words
A method of identifying a plurality of defined broadcast programs in a broadcast signal comprising the steps of:
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
11 words
detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the broadcast signal;
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
11 words
detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the broadcast signal;
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
processing the broadcast signal at the occurence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples;
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
processing the broadcast signal at the occurence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples;
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
processing the broadcast signal a predefined time interval after the occurence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples;
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
processing the broadcast signal a predefined time interval after the occurence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples;
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the broadcast signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value;
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the broadcast signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value;
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
extracting a signature from the broadcast signal after the occurence of said stability condition;
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
14 words
extracting a signature from the broadcast signal after the occurence of said stability condition;
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
11 words
storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof; and
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
11 words
storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof; and
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify the broadcast program.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify the broadcast program.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a scene change from one video scene to another video scene in the television video signal.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a blank frame having silent audio followed by a non-blank frame.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined magnitude change in the television audio signal.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined amplitude change in a selected color component of the television video signal.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said predetermined event is the elapse of a predetermined time period after the occurrence of a previous predetermined event.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method as recited in claim 6 wherein said predetermined time period is approximately 3 to 10 seconds.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a radio broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined change in magnitude of the radio signal.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
84 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the steps of low pass filtering the video signal to produce a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and comparing said video samples and a predetermined video threshold value to indicate a blank frame wherein said video samples are less than said predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method as recited in claim 9 wherein said step of low pass filtering the video signal includes the step of passing the video signal through a low pass filter having a cut off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method as recited in claim 9 wherein the step of sampling said video envelope signal includes the step of taking a predetermined number of samples of said video envelope signal and taking the average of predetermined consecutive samples to generate a plurality of average signals, each average signal defining one of the features that comprises a feature string.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method as recited in claim 9 wherein the step of sampling said video envelope signal includes the step of taking 56 samples of said video envelope signal and taking the average of every two ( consecutive samples to generate 28 features that comprise a feature string.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
85 words
The method as recited in claim 9 further including the steps of calculating an audio energy level, comparing the calculated audio energy level and a predetermined audio energy threshold value to indicate silent audio wherein said calculated audio energy level is less than said predetermined audio energy threshold value, and comparing said video samples and a second predetermined video threshold value to indicate a non-blank frame and a blank frame predetermined event wherein said video samples are greater than said second predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
97 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the steps of low pass filtering the video signal to provide a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples and comparing said series of video samples to a previous series of video samples to indicate a scene change predetermined event wherein the absolute value of the difference of said series of samples is greater than a predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said step of low pass filtering said video signal includes the step of passing the video signal through a low pass filter having a cut off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
68 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the steps of processing said audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, and digitizing said audio spectrum signals, and comparing said digitized audio spectrum signals to previously produced digitized audio spectrum signals to indicate a predetermined event wherein a predetermined change in spectral composition is detected.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the step of processing said audio signal is provided in the range of approximately 330 Hz to 2.54 kHz.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
162 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said steps of processing the broadcast signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; and processing the broadcast signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples includes the steps of low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, and periodically siampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and wherein the step of comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the broadcast signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value includes the steps of calculating an absolute value of the difference of the first and second series of video samples and comparing said calculated absolute values and said predetermined threshold value to indicate the stability condition wherein said calculated absolute values are less than said predetermined threshold value.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method as recited in claim 18 further including the step of increasing said predetermined threshold value wherein a predetermined time period elapses after the occurrence of said detected predetermined event without detecting a stability condition.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
91 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of extracting a signature from the broadcast signal to be identified includes the steps of low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, digitizing said video samples to provide a video signature, spectral filtering an audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, digitizing said audio spectrum signals to provide an audio signature, and combining said video signature and said audio signature.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method as recited in claim 20 wherein said step of combining said video signature and said audio signature includes the steps of defining a first feature string representative of said video signature, defining a second feature string representative of said audio signature, and concatenating said first and second feature strings.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said reference signatures are generated by the steps of: comparing said stored extracted signature with said plurality of reference signatures to identify an unmatched extracted signature; and storing said unmatched extracted signature.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method recited in claim 22 further including the steps of: comparing said stored unmatched, extracted signatures to identify repetitively stored unmatched, extracted signatures.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method as recited in claim 1 wherein said step of comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program includes the step of: performing a variable range hash code search for at least one possible matching reference signature.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method as recited in claim 24 further including the steps of: calculating a measure of similarity for said possible matching reference signature; comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a first predetermined threshold value to identify a matching reference signature; and comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a second predetermined threshold value to vary the range of said variable range hash code search.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
74 words
A method as recited in claim 25 further including the steps of storing said matching reference signatures with said time of extraction of the extracted signatures; calculating the number of matching reference signatures in a series that indicate a particular broadcast program; determining a sequence of said series of matching reference signatures that indicate a particular broadcast program; and identifying the particular broadcast program wherein said calculated number is greater than a minimum value.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
171 words
A system for identifying a plurality of defined braodcast programs in a broadcast signal comprising: means for detecting the occurence of a predetermined event in the broadcast signal; means for detecting a stability condition in the broadcast signal after the occurrence of said predetermined event; said stability condition detecting means including means for processing the broadcast signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event provide a first series of signal samples; means for processing the broadcast signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; and means for comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the broadcast signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; means for extracting a signature from the broadcast signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; means for storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof; and means for comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
171 words
A system for identifying a plurality of defined braodcast programs in a broadcast signal comprising: means for detecting the occurence of a predetermined event in the broadcast signal; means for detecting a stability condition in the broadcast signal after the occurrence of said predetermined event; said stability condition detecting means including means for processing the broadcast signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event provide a first series of signal samples; means for processing the broadcast signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; and means for comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the broadcast signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; means for extracting a signature from the broadcast signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; means for storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof; and means for comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a scene change from one video scene to another video scene in the television video signal.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a blank frame having silent audio followed by a non-blank frame.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined magnitude change in the television audio signal.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined amplitude change in a selected color component of the television video signal.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting the elapse of a predetermined time period after the occurrence of a previous predetermined event.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system as recited in claim 32 wherein said predetermined time period is approximately 3-10 seconds.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein said broadcast signal is a radio broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined change in magnitude in the radio signal.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
87 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for low pass filtering the video signal to produce a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and means for comparing said video samples with a predetermined video threshold value to indicate a blank frame wherein said video samples are less than said predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 35 wherein said means for low pass filtering said video signal has a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
100 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein the broadcast signal is a television broadcast signal and said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for low pass filtering said video signal to provide a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples and means for comparing said series of video samples to a previous series of video samples to indicate a scene change predetermined event wherein the absolute value of the difference of said series of samples is greater than a predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 37 wherein said means for low pass filtering said video signal has a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
69 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for periodically sampling an audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, means for digitizing said audio spectrum signals, and means for comparing said audio spectrum signals to previously produced audio spectrum signals to indicate a predetermined event wherein a predetermined change in spectral composition is detected.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system as recited in claim 39 wherein said audio spectrum signals have a range of approximately 330 Hz to 2.54 kHz.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
47 words
The system as recited in claim 35 wherein the means for sampling said video envelope signal includes means for taking 56 samples of said video envelope signal and means for taking the average of every two consecutive samples to generate 28 features that comprise a feature string.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
60 words
The system as recited in claim 35 wherein the means for sampling said video envelope signal includes means for taking a predetermined number of samples of said video envelope signal and means for taking the average of predetermined consecutive samples to generate a plurality of average signals, each average signal defining one of the features that comprises a feature string.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
99 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein said means for extracting a signature from the broadcast to be identified includes means for low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, means for digitizing said video samples to provide a video signature, means for spectral filtering an audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum, signals, means for digitizing said audio spectrum signals to provide an audio signature, and means for combining said video signature and said audio signature.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system as recited in claim 43 wherein said means for combining said video signature and said audio signature includes means for defining a first feature string representative of said video signature, means for defining a second feature string representative of said audio signature, and means for concatenating said first and second feature strings.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system as recited in claim 27 wherein said means for comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program includes; means for performing a variable range hsh code search for at least one possible matching reference signature.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
68 words
The system as recited in claim 45 further including: means for calculating a measure of similarity for said possible matching reference signature; means for comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a first predetermined threshold value to identify a matching reference signature; and means for comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a second predetermined threshold value to vary the range of said variable range hash code search.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system as recited in claim 46 further including; means for storing said matching reference signature with said time of extraction of the extracted signatures; means for calculating the number of matching reference signatures in a series that indicate a particular broadcast program; means for determining a sequence of said series of matching reference signatures that indicate a particular broadcast program; and means for identifying the particular broadcast program wherein said calculated number is greater than a minimum value.
Claim 64
Independent Claim
108 words
A method of monitoring a signal comprising the steps of; detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the signal; processing the signal at the occurrence if the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; extracting a signature from the signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; and storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof.
Claim 65
Independent Claim
108 words
A method of monitoring a signal comprising the steps of; detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the signal; processing the signal at the occurrence if the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; extracting a signature from the signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; and storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as recited in claim 48 further comprising the step of comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program.
Claim 67
Independent Claim
36 words
The method as recited in cliam 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a scene change from one video scene to another video scene in the television video signal.
Claim 68
Independent Claim
36 words
The method as recited in cliam 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a scene change from one video scene to another video scene in the television video signal.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a blank frame having silent audio followed by a non-blank frame in the television video signal.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined magnitude change in the television audio signal.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined amplitude change in a selected color component of the television video signal.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein said predetermined event is the elapse of a predetermined time period after tne occurrence of a previous predetermined event.
Claim 73
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method as recited in claim 54 wherein said predetermined time period is approximately 3-10 seconds.
Claim 74
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein said signal is a radio broadcast signal and said predetermined event is a predetermined change in magnitude in the radio signal.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
82 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the steps of low pass filtering the video signal to produce a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and comparing said video samples and a predetermined threshold value to indicate a blank frame wherein said video samples are less than said predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method as recited in claim 57 wherein said step of low pass filtering the video signal includes the step of passing the video signal through a low pass filter having a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method as recited in claim 57 wherein the step of sampling said video envelope signal includes the step of taking a predetermined number of samples of said video envelope signal and taking the average of predetermined consecutive samples to generate a plurality of average signals, each average signal defining one of the features that comprises a feature string.
Claim 78
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method as recited in claim 57 wherein the step of sampling of said video envelope signal includes the step of taking 56 samples of said video envelope signal and taking the average of every two consecutive samples to generate 28 features that comprise a feature string.
Claim 79
Dependent Claim
96 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the steps of low pass filtering the video signal to provide a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples and comparing said series of video samples to a previous series of video samples to indicate a scene change predetermined event wherein the absolute value of the difference of said series of samples is greater than a predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 80
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method as recited in claim 61 wherein said step of low pass filtering said video signal includes the step of passing the video signal through a low pass filter having a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 81
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein said step of detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes the sreps of low pass filtering an audio signal to provide an audio spectrum signal, processing said audio spectrum signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, and digitizing said audio spectrum signals, and comparing said digitized audio spectrum signals to previously produced digitized audio spectrum signals to indicate a predetermined event wherein a predetermined change in magnitude is detected.
Claim 82
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method as recited in claim 63 wherein the step of processing said audio signal is provided in the range of approximately 330 Hz to 2.54 kHz.
Claim 83
Dependent Claim
99 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein said step of extracting a signature from the signal includes the steps of low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series ot video samples. digitizing said video samples to provide a video signature, low pass filtering an audio signal to provide an audio spectrum signal, processing said audio spectrum signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, digitizing said audio spectrum signals to provide an audio signature, and combining said video signature and said audio signature.
Claim 84
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method as recited in claim 65 wherein said step of combining said video signature and said audio signature includes the steps of defining a first feature string representative of said video signature, defining a second feature string representative of said audio signature, and concatenating said first and second feature strigs.
Claim 85
Dependent Claim
159 words
The method as recited in claim 48 wherein the steps of processing the signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; and processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples includes the steps of low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, and periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and wherein the step of comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value includes the steps of calculating an absolute value of the difference of the first and second series of video samples, and comparing said calculated absolute values and said predetermined threshold value to indicate the stability condition wherein said calculated absolute values are less than said predetermined threshold value.
Claim 86
Dependent Claim
139 words
The method as recited in claim 49 wherein the step of comparing the signal extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures includes the steps of: performing a variable range cash code search for at least on possible matching reference signature; calculating a measure ot similarity for said possible matching reference signature; comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a first predetermined threshold value to identify a matching reference signature; comparing said calculated measure of similarity with a second predetermined threshold value to vary the range of said variable range hash code search; storing said matching rererence signatures with said time of extraction of the extracted signatures; calculating the number of matching reference signatures in a series that indicate a particular broadcast program; and identifying the particular broadcast program wherein said calculated number is greater than a minimum value.
Claim 87
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as recited in claim 68 further including the step of determining a sequence of said series of matching reference signatures that indicate a particular broadcast program.
Claim 88
Independent Claim
163 words
A system for monitoring a signal for use in a system for identifying a plurality of defined broadcast programs in the monitored signal, the monitoring system comprising: means for detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the signal; means for detecting the occurrence of a stability condition in the signal after the occurrence of said predetermined events; said stability condition detecting means including means for processing the signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; means for processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; and means for comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; means for extracting a signature from the signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; and means for storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof.
Claim 89
Independent Claim
163 words
A system for monitoring a signal for use in a system for identifying a plurality of defined broadcast programs in the monitored signal, the monitoring system comprising: means for detecting the occurrence of a predetermined event in the signal; means for detecting the occurrence of a stability condition in the signal after the occurrence of said predetermined events; said stability condition detecting means including means for processing the signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; means for processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples; and means for comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetermined threshold value; means for extracting a signature from the signal after the occurrence of said stability condition; and means for storing the extracted signature and a time of extraction thereof.
Claim 90
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 70 further comprising means for comparing the stored extracted signature with a plurality of reference signatures to identify a broadcast program.
Claim 91
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a slow scene change from one video scene to another video scene in the television video signal.
Claim 92
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetemined event detecting means includes means for detecting a blank frame having silent audio followed by a non-blank frame in the television video signal.
Claim 93
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined magnitude change in the television audio signal.
Claim 94
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system as recited i claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined amplitude change in a selected color component of the television video signal.
Claim 95
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting the elapse of a predetermined time period after the occurrence of a previous predetermined event.
Claim 96
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system as recited in claim 76 wherein said predetermined time period is approximately 3-10 seconds.
Claim 97
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a radio broadcast signal and said predetermined event detecting means includes means for detecting a predetermined change in magnitude of the radio signal.
Claim 98
Dependent Claim
86 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for low pass filtering the video signal to produce a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, and means for comparing said video samples and a predetermined video threshold value to indicate a blank frame wherein said video samples are less than said predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 99
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 79 wherein said means for low pass filtering the video signal has a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 100
Dependent Claim
60 words
The system as recited in claim 79 wherein the means for sampling said video envelope signal includes means for taking a predetermined number of samples of said video envelope signal and means for taking the average of predetermined consecutive samples to generate a plurality of average signals, each average signal defining one of the features that comprises a feature string.
Claim 101
Dependent Claim
48 words
The system as recited in claim 79 wherein the means for sampling of said video envelope signal includes means for taking 56 samples of said video envelope signal and means for taking the average of every two consecutive samples to generate 28 features that comprise a feature string.
Claim 102
Dependent Claim
100 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for low pass filtering the video signal to provide a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples and means for comparing said series of video samples to a previous series of video samples to indicate a low scene change predetermined event wherein the absolure value of the difference of said series of samples is greater than a predetermined video threshold value.
Claim 103
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 83 wherein said means for low pass filtering said video signal has a cut-off frequency of approximately 0 to 2 kHz.
Claim 104
Dependent Claim
70 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein said means for detecting the occurrence of said predetermined event includes means for processing an audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, and means for digitizing said audio spectrum signals, and means for comparing said digitized audio spectrum signals to previously produced digitized audio spectrum signals to indicate a predetermined event wherein a predetermined change is magnitude is detected.
Claim 105
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system as recited in claim 85 wherein the means for processing said audio signal is provided in the range of approximately 330 Hz to 2.54 kHz.
Claim 106
Dependent Claim
106 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein the signal is a television broadcast signal and said means for extracting a signature from the signal to be identified includes means for low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal, means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of video samples, means for digitizing said video samples to provide a video signature, means for processing an audio signal to provide a plurality of audio spectrum signals, means for digitizing said audio spectrum signals to provide an audio signature, and means for combining said video signature and said audio signature.
Claim 107
Dependent Claim
54 words
The system as recited in claim 87 wherein said means for combining said video signature and said audio signature includes means for defining a first feature string representative of said video signature, means for defining a second feature string representative of said audio signature, and means for concatenating said first and second feature strings.
Claim 108
Dependent Claim
162 words
The system as recited in claim 70 wherein said means for processing the signal at the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a first series of signal samples; and means for processing the signal a predefined time interval after the occurrence of the predetermined event to provide a second series of signal samples includes means for low pass filtering a video signal to provide a video envelope signal; and means for periodically sampling said video envelope signal to provide a series of samples; and wherein said means for comparing the first and second series of signal samples to detect a stability condition in the signal responsive to an identified predetemined threshold value includes means for calculating an absolute value of the difference of the first and second series of video samples; and means for comparing said calculated absolute values and the predetermined threshold value to indicate the stability condition wherein said calculated absolute values are less than said predetermined threshold value.
Claim 109
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system as recited in claim 89 further including means for increasing said predetermined threshold value wherein a predetermined time period elapses after the occurrence of said detected predetermined event without detecting a stability condition.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-06-29 | 1990-12-29 | 1991-06-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-06-29 | 1994-12-29 | 1995-06-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-06-29 | 1998-12-29 | 1999-06-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |